We arrived in Entebbe Airport right on time at 10:20p (Uganda time), got our visas without a hitch, got every piece of luggage thankfully, and found Steve and Tanya as soon as we walked outside. It wasn't very hard though, they were the only white people amongst a flood of Africans. We stayed in a guest house in Kampala for the night before making the long trip to their home in Soroti. Saturday morning we woke up and as I flipped the light switch no light came on- I tried about 20 more times even though I knew I'd get the same result- something I think Ken Buiter would try doing, we want the light to come on so badly if we just flick it enough times it will work, right? Nope. So I had an African experience of getting ready for the day with the aid of an oil lantern. But I also had the advantage of the American experience of using my iPhone flashlight. Suckas!
The ride home to Soroti is an experience I will gladly forfeit in the states. The roads here are terrible and I vow to never ever complain about Michigan roads again. You have not hit a pothole until you have driven Ugandan roads. It is a bumpy ride- like driving down deep rumble strips forever, then hitting a patch of smooth pavement, then back to the road filled potholes. The drive is constantly going from 100km/h to 10km/h and back again. It is extremely painful and unpleasant! The ride was fun though when all the little kids would point at our van at the white people- it isn't every day that they see a mzunga, much less a van full. During our drive we stopped in Jinja to take a short boat cruise on Lake Victoria, the source of the Nile River. We even rode down the Nile for a while- pretty cool!
On Sunday I got to experience an African church service. Everything opposite of anything we are used to. Church is supposed to start at 9a, but really starts whenever the villagers decide it's time to start, so I think we got there around 9:30 when we heard the music. There were 6 people in the church when we arrived, and by then end there were probably close to 75 people. The service lasts 3 hours, and contains many songs (which are very simple, usually a combination of "Hallelujah"'s, "God is good"'s, "Praise Him"'s, and other little phrases put to any random tune. There was also a time for praises and prayer requests, a time for visitors to stand and say their name and where they are from, and all their prayers are spoken out loud by each member at the same time. There was a sermon that was very hard to follow- no easy 3 point message from an educated minister, shucks! To complicate it more, everything (except for the songs) was translated to Teso (the native tongue in Pamba, Soroti), so there were constantly two people talking at once. There's a lot of dancing, clapping, tongue yodeling type thing- just a lot of happiness from the people. And, the best part yet, when a woman walks into the church with a baby, you can just walk right up to her and take the baby out of her hands. Tanya would take a baby and give it to me, so I had a child in my lap the whole time which I loved :)
Monday was an awesome day to Mbale where we hiked mount Elgon to see the Sisi Falls- possibly the prettiest creation I've seen ever. The hike up was slippery and steep, but I managed to only fall once, and it was about two hours. There were a few villages that we passed on the way, and the people here do not see mzungu's very often, so as soon as they saw us they would send their kids running after us rubbing their fingers together asking for money- the only english word they know. These places are definitely the poorest that I've seen on my trip yet, though no place has been nice, not even Kampala which is the most westernized. There was not a single child in shoes, and almost all of their clothes were ripped, had holes, or were literally missing half a shirt. Most of these people have never even been off the mountain because they cannot afford it, so all they know is literally playing outside their huts (brick buildings with grass roofs), washing clothes in the dirty creeks, collecting food from the plants on the mountain, and tending to any animals they might own (cows, goats, pigs, chickens). It's sad to think they've only traveled a few kilometers when I've been able to travel 17,000 miles to come here.
Everybody has been curious how I'm going to like the food, knowing I am close to the world's pickiest eater. Thankfully, staying with American missionaries, I am able to eat pretty familiar things- spaghetti, grilled cheese, peanut butter sandwich, etc. But I have a germophobe thing where I don't trust anything from here, so I have not tried any meat because who knows where that came from, the vegetables have to be bleached because the water here is bad, so that's difficult (but manageable), and the fruits have to be peel-able otherwise they would have to be bleached, too. So I'm left with breads, rice, the sanitary fruits, and the things I packed- poptarts, fruit snacks, peanuts, and clif bars. It's only a month, I'll manage.
Here are just a couple pictures to highlight the trip to date:
A normal view of the side of a road in Uganda.
Not the best picture, but this is our ride down the Nile.
Baby Rose who I danced to sleep in church.
Steven, on the left, just kills me! The kids are so good in church!
They love having their picture taken- and then they flock around to see it on the screen.
I held a chameleon today on our hike!
Tanya and I by the first falls.
Family picture by the second falls
Kate, Steve, Ashley, Tanya, Alli, Drew, Troy, and me.
We bought a back-feathered chicken on our hike today- not normal.
Macy Keegstra, Flat Stanley is having a great time! He made it to the falls today and loved it, he told me so himself.
This picture doesn't do justice, but that is actually a paved road that is so broken up that we drive on the side of the road to avoid the potholes.
Happy new year to all!
Pce. & Blessings.
Jessie
